Vera-Cruise

Last week I was pounding my keyboard about the importance of rejecting racial prejustice. I am sure I managed to hack off some people by merely mentioning race and pegging the cringe meters of a few of my limp wristed coherts in ministry. They can all get over themselves and don't even bother trying to call me. At the time you are reading this I will be suffering for Jesus on a cruise to Jamaica and the Grand Cayman.

Once a year my wife and I do a marriage retreat with several good friends of ours where we take off to sandy beaches and distant shorelines. We farm the kids out and try realy hard to forget about everything. well- we don't really have to try that hard.

Through the years Leanna and I have been to Cozumel, Belize, Cancun, Progresso, Veracruz, the Caymans and Jamaica on 7 different trips. Progresso is a septic tank and you shouldn't even bother getting off of the boat but Veracruz is a detour I hope all of you have the privilege of seeing.

Several years ago Hurricane Wilma was tearing up the Gulf of mexico with my boat steaming right across the middle of it. Everybody on board was sea sick and it was something akin to being in a car wreck for ten solid hours. While cozumel was being blown off the map our ship got diverted to an unscheduled stop at Veracruz, Mexico.

Out of all the places I have been on a cruise Vera-cruise has been at the top of my favorite by far. The city is just beautiful and they have a trolly system that makes a circuit through the whole town. if you don't get off you end up at the same place you started so you don't have to worry about getting lost. The people were wonderful and friendly. It was just really neat.

Lunch with a Queen

We also ate at a lovely little restaurant on a cobble stoned street next to an ancient mission first established by Cortez himself. While we were sitting there, an extremely old lady hobbled up and asked us if she could have the bread on our table. I told her no and my wife looked at me really surprised. before she turned away I jumped up and pulled out a chair for her to sit at our table and said “Benvenidos”. Leanna handed her a menu and that Lady lit up like a Christmas tree. We spent the entire after noon talking and laughing and eating and loving on each other. She would pull on my fat cheek like I was a little boy and kiss me . My wife thought she was hilarious and our conversation lasted for a very long time. She went on and on.

I wish I could tell you what we talked about but I cant because I don’t speak spanish and that old lady didn't speak a word of english. It didn't matter.

Dinner with The King

In the book of revelation Jesus promises that if anyone will hear his voice and open the door he will come in and sit down to eat with us like family. I love God’s priority on family and fellowship. If you do have to miss veracruz, I really am sorry but there is no reason for you to miss the table with Jesus. He’s not knocking at your door with his hand, he’s knocking with His voice. He’s calling you by name and He doesnt just want you to be His servant, He wants you to be family.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me Revelation 3:20

www.troybrewer.com www.freshfromthebrewer.com

...They are preciouse in His sight

In 1991, a very intoxicated Rodney King drove two friends down the 210 freeway in Los Angeles. He was clocked speeding by the California Highway Patrol and fearing his probation for robbery would be revoked, he refused to stop, leading officers on a high-speed chase, eventually hitting 115 miles per hour.

He was caught by several L.A.P.D. squad cars, a struggle ensued, and some of the officers quickly decided that King was resisting arrest. Even though Sergeant Stacey Koon fired two shots from a taser into King, they still failed to subdue him. From that point the officers mobbed King and began to beat him mercilessly with their batons.

Standing nearby was George Holiday filming the whole terrible beating on video tape sending shock waves around the world and firing up an already suspicious Los Angeles African American community. When they saw the video, most assumed it was nothing more than racial profiling and unchecked abuse by the police. Another blatant example of racial injustice, they said.

A year later the four officers accused in the beating were acquitted of wrong doing in Simi Valley, and for some very ugly and hateful people it was a powder keg excuse to burn their city and go on a racist killing spree themselves. What followed on April 29, 1992, was the worst single episode of urban unrest in American history. 53 people were violently murdered and over $1 billion, with a B, in damage was done to Los Angeles.

Lets be friends

I remember a sober Rodney King, to his credit, standing up during the riots and saying anything he could, to stop the violence. “Cant we just all get along?” he said to the camera.

I also remembering answering his question verbally to a blind and dumb television set. “No, Rodney we cant.” And it had nothing to do with race.

Most people of every race cant get along with a guy who robs, drives drunk, picks up transvestite prostitutes and is arrested multiple times for beating up his wife and daughter. We cant get along with a guy who wins nearly four million dollars in his law suit against the police, and still gets arrested atleast 9 times more in several states after becoming a millionaire.

I want to get along with Rodney King but when you live a life and make decisions that endanger the public I tend to think we would all get along better with Rodney in a prison somewhere.

Though I do not have the privilege of being in the same race it does not make a me a racist if we cant get along because of behavior or the content of one’s character. Thats not to say there is not a racist issue in America there always has been. It is a spirit from hell that is manifest in every tone of skin where people are willing to cooperate with it.

The face of America is changing and if we are going to get along it is not going to be because of race, it is going to be because of shared values and respect for each other. God help us as a country to get past the curse of racism.

Let’s be Family

The church is world-famous for not getting along through the years. Even though the body of Christ transcends all racial and cultural barriers, the house of God has been riddled with domestic violence from the very beginning.

The book of Acts records Peter as a Jew who had a very real racist problem with gentiles and had to have a visit from Jesus himself. Turns out that Jesus is the cure for racism.

For those of us who claim to have our lives changed through the Power of the lord Jesus Christ, there is no room for racial hatred or even tension. There is not a black part of Heaven and a white part. There is no reservation or China town or barrio. There’s just God and His family. Let it be said of you and me as Christians, we stand with Justice, equality and a love for God and other people that make us different from every other people group on the planet.

After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb. Revelation 7:9-10

Troy Brewer Pastors Open Door Ministries and can be found at Troybrewer.com

Painting Pictures of Dad

Butterfly Kisses

My kids are not the most artistic bunch but when they were little, they would do like most kids and often make a crayon masterpiece. Sometimes they would be thrilled to bring me what some would consider less than flattering circles with heads on them. I would pretend it was not because they saw me as fat, but because they were at some early stage of development.

I’m no psychologist but I would observe the houses were always whole and so were the hearts. That was a big deal to me because so many little people in our children's church draw pictures that would make us bawl. Kids we know with broken homes would draw half houses where the other runs off the page and you can’t see it. I guessed like they couldn't see the other half of their real house. Or they would draw a picture of the new family and leave themselves out of the group or really sad suns or things like that.

All my kids were loved and a little on the spoiled side of a family that has a really big emphasis on family. So when my youngest daughter for example would bring me a picture she would often say “Look daddy, its you!” and she couldn't get it into my hands quick enough. She would wait for my reaction and I would do something silly like put my hand on my chess and yell out “Good googly moogly, I want to paint that vision on the great wall of China!”

She would laugh and run off to draw something else, because she couldn't wait to get another crazy response out of me. I miss those days.

Revelations

As a Christian, I think I still do that kind of thing to my spiritual father. I give to him little moments and eventually a life I think looks like him. When you serve God in a special way what you do has to do with who you believe God to be. It’s what you think He looks like. For example, If you have a revelation about how God loves you and has mercy on you, you find your self loving other people and cutting other people slack in bad situations. You do that unto the Lord and it’s just like giving him something that says “It’s you daddy!”

If you have a revelation about what an awesome giver The Lord is, you will find yourself being a giver in your church or helping something in a bad financial place. That’s you running to The Father, handing him your service and saying, “This looks like you Daddy”.

No fear of criticism. No fear of taking it to Him because He’s a good dad and every time you get an incredible response from The Father that makes you feel like the most loved person on the planet.

In this week’s confession of a highly caffeinated Christian, I pour a cup with mellow flavors to sip on. Think a thought like He thinks today. Do a work like He does and more than that, be like He is in what ever challenging or amazing situation you come across. Let there be something going on between you and God which no one else in the word knows anything about. Give your life and your heart to God and say “Look Daddy, this looks like you,”

Then Jesus called a little child to Him, set him in the midst of them, and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, unless you are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore whoever humbles himself as this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. Matthew 18:2-4

You can find out more about the Brewer at www.troybrewer.com



Troy Brewer

The next KINGDOM MECHANICS conference starts January 25th and will be better than ever. sign up now www.freshfromthebrewer.com or www.opendoorministries.org

The Secret To Winning

The secret to winning

I have some amazing friends in Northern California who love everything about
Texas except the Dallas Cowboys. Bless their hearts, I have to allow them
some stupidity. 



They call our beloved football team "The evil empire" and refer to Jerry
Jones as "The Emperor". They believe our new stadium to be an unholy place
and say it looks like the death star. Of course, they are just jealous
because the 49ers stink and the bible says where envy is there is every evil
work.  As my kids would say, get over your bad self.



Blue & White Blood 

I was raised to be a loyal Cowboy fan. If someone in my family doesn't like
the Cowboys it is believed to be a manifestation of a demonic spirit or
proof one of my grandmothers jumped the fence and polluted our DNA.    



I totally left our families tradition of being a GMC fan and bought a new
Dodge truck several years ago, I have converted from PC to Mac but it would
be a fatal blow to my dear old mom and dad if I didn't root for the cowboys.
My rebellion can only go so far.



As a Cowboy fan, I have paid close attention to what our coaches have said
through they years. The great Tom Landry didn't speak very much but when he
did, sometimes it was brilliant. In a 1979 interview with dandy Don
Meredith, Coach Landry said, "A winner never stops trying and the real
secret to winning is being constant and consistent.



Constant, Consistent and Faithful

I was thinking about Coach Landry this morning while listening to my friend
Graham Cook preach from a conference several years ago. Like Coach, Graham
believes that having victory is all about being consistent and constant. He
went on to say that in order to tap into a consistent and constant walk of
progression in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must understand how God
persistently and constantly keeps us. He's not on again and off again with
us. He is for us and loves us all the time.  I know a lot of people don't
believe that but I do and this is Fresh From The Brewer. Ha!



"The great thing about journeying with the Lord," Graham says, "is that He
knows how to keep us. Day after day.there is no situation or no circumstance
.where He does not have the power to keep us and to prosper us in all those
things.".



"That's a fabulous thought for me because in all of the ups and downs of
life, God is the one remaining constant. What The Holy spirit is teaching us
today is how to be constant like God is..and the biggest part of that deal
is that you can not know what it is like to be constant, consistent, and
faithful unless you know what it is like to be kept by God and experience
him as all those things.What God wants from you, He first of all gives to
you."  Graham says.



Well I tip my hat to Graham and to coach Landry both for mapping out this
important Kingdom principle of victory. You can't give away what you do not
have. If we are going to be really victorious people we have to be
consistently constant in our pursuit and love for the Lord. The only way
that can happen is if we first understand how God never gives up on us. He's
just really neat like that.  



Troy Brewer Pastors Open Door Ministries near Joshua TX and can be reached
at troy@opendoorministries.org



Troy Brewer



The next KINGDOM MECHANICS conference starts January 25th and will be better
than ever. sign up now     www.freshfromthebrewer.com or
www.opendoorministries.org

We Believe

I get a lot of letters from church leaders wanting to know what me and my
church believe in. Some of them are critical and even hateful saying things
like "After reading this column, I just can't picture you as a Pastor".

Well to you Madam I say me neither, as I sip my amazing cup of Costa Rican
coffee.  You see I lost my job as a whiskey runner and my unemployment
office suggested I put in an application at Open Door. Just kidding, but
then of course religious folk think its righteousness to be a stick in the
mud and a sin to have any kind of laugh at all. I hate religion.       

So it occurred to me I have never printed any form of statement of faith for
what want we go after as a church.  If you are a Christian you may find some
things you don't agree with, but I encourage you to look at it as a holy
buffet. Swallow what you can and pass by the rest that's not for you. If you
are a church elder you may want to use some of this language to map out your
own defining statements of faith.  If you're not a Christian you may still
find it a little intriguing that we really are this crazy.

Statement of Faith

One of the few ways Open Door is traditional is, we adhere to common beliefs
and practices of the Christian church throughout the world and throughout
the centuries. We are Jesus loving people first and foremost, and it's for
this reason we have gathered together as a community. With that said, this
body of believers is a unique group that gives emphasis to things we think
are important that others may not.   

WE BELIEVE the greatest of all commandments is not the great commission, but
rather to Love God and then to love those around us.

WE BELIEVE a church should not only preach about the Love of God but fully
demonstrate God's love and nature to each other and the people we are
preaching to. We also believe that we are not always going to be successful
at this but we will constantly press forward towards that mark.

WE BELIEVE that a churches first priority should be relational before we
attempt to be functional. God doesn't move through our church agenda, but
through our relationships as a body.

WE BELIEVE that while the great commission is not the greatest priority it
should still be a very high priority and because of that, we will not wait
for millions of dollars before we make a million dollar difference here and
throughout the world.

WE BELIEVE the word of God never changes but we as individual Christians and
as a corporate church should progressively grow and change from season to
season.  Our mission statement is, "We are going to transform in order to
change the world."

WE BELIEVE that unity makes us a conduit for God's power.

WE BELIEVE that a church service should be all about an encounter with God
and equipping and edifying the saints. Sometimes there will be more of an
emphasis on worship and sometimes more on teaching, We should be Spirit led
in determining what that priority should be from season to season.

WE BELIEVE that Open Door Ministries is a valuable part of One Church , One
Bride and one Body of Christ that transcends social, economical, racial,
geographical and even generational barriers. The Body of Christ is not an
organization but a living organism that extends from and belongs to Jesus
himself.  We believe a lot of churches do things better than us, but we have
something to offer that is unique and needed within the body.

WE BELIEVE in the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit and in the practical
application and responsibility of the Saints.

WE BELIEVE that to preach life without loving life is hypocrisy. To preach
the Power of God without demonstrating the Power of God is ludicrous. To say
that God is giving and loving without we as a church being giving and loving
is unthinkable and to teach and study about God without personally knowing
God in intimacy is tragedy and a life wasted.

None of this is a criticism of anyone else. It is just a statement of what
we believe and who we as a church, have to be. The Brewer encourages you to
go after your own decisions that define you and let it be a constant work in
progress.

You can reach Troy at  <http://www.freshfromthebrewer.com/>
www.freshfromthebrewer.com

The Secret to Winning

I have some amazing friends in Northern California who love everything about Texas except the Dallas Cowboys. Bless their hearts, I have to allow them some stupidity.

They call our beloved football team “The evil empire” and refer to Jerry Jones as “The Emperor”. They believe our new stadium to be an unholy place and say it looks like the death star. Of course, they are just jealous because the 49ers stink and the bible says where envy is there is every evil work. As my kids would say, get over your bad self.

Blue & White Blood

I was raised to be a loyal Cowboy fan. If someone in my family doesn’t like the Cowboys it is believed to be a manifestation of a demonic spirit or proof one of my grandmothers jumped the fence and polluted our DNA.

I totally left our families tradition of being a GMC fan and bought a new Dodge truck several years ago, I have converted from PC to Mac but it would be a fatal blow to my dear old mom and dad if I didn’t root for the cowboys. My rebellion can only go so far.

As a Cowboy fan, I have paid close attention to what our coaches have said through they years. The great Tom Landry didn’t speak very much but when he did, sometimes it was brilliant. In a 1979 interview with dandy Don Meredith, Coach Landry said, “A winner never stops trying and the real secret to winning is being constant and consistent.

Constant, Consistent and Faithful

I was thinking about Coach Landry this morning while listening to my friend Graham Cook preach from a conference several years ago. Like Coach, Graham believes that having victory is all about being consistent and constant. He went on to say that in order to tap into a consistent and constant walk of progression in the Lord Jesus Christ, we must understand how God persistently and constantly keeps us. He’s not on again and off again with us. He is for us and loves us all the time. I know a lot of people don’t believe that but I do and this is Fresh From The Brewer. Ha!

“The great thing about journeying with the Lord,” Graham says, “is that He knows how to keep us. Day after day…there is no situation or no circumstance …where He does not have the power to keep us and to prosper us in all those things.”.

“That’s a fabulous thought for me because in all of the ups and downs of life, God is the one remaining constant. What The Holy spirit is teaching us today is how to be constant like God is….and the biggest part of that deal is that you can not know what it is like to be constant, consistent, and faithful unless you know what it is like to be kept by God and experience him as all those things…What God wants from you, He first of all gives to you.” Graham says.

Well I tip my hat to Graham and to coach Landry both for mapping out this important Kingdom principle of victory. You can’t give away what you do not have. If we are going to be really victorious people we have to be consistently constant in our pursuit and love for the Lord. The only way that can happen is if we first understand how God never gives up on us. He’s just really neat like that.

Troy Brewer Pastors Open Door Ministries near Joshua TX and can be reached at troy@opendoorministries.org